Below is a poem written by Jeremy A. Jeremy read this poem at a recent panel presentation of the Heartland Safe Schools Initiative.

Am I Not A Man?

Am I not a man because I choose to be me?
Instead of hiding behind the scenes and being classified as low key.

Am I not a man because you don’t classify me as tough?
On a daily basis I go through so much.

Living one day in my shoes you wouldn’t last,
Call it what you will but being gay is not a fad.

Am I not a man because I have my own personality?
You notice my faults but you’re blinded by your own discrepancies.

Am I not a man because I am not a man by your standards?
You feed into the hype and all the propaganda.

Am I not a man because you say I’m not?
But let’s look at what you ain’t got.

You don’t have the courage to be true.
I have the courage to say I don’t want to be like you.

You have the nerve not to use a rubber
Tell a girl you love her,

But you the first to leave when she becomes a teenage mother.
The list could go on and on and I could continue to read,

But hurting you would be hurting.
No matter where you go and no matter what you do,

Just remember I got my shi* together.
So I am just as much of a man as you!